C is for .....
When we were learning science, we were taught that plants parts are green because they have chlorophyll. And if it looks like a plant but does not make it own food, it is a fungus. So what do we do about plants that do not have chlorophyll?
The truth is that the plants that do not have plantlike abilities. Ability to grow in soil, water or a mixture of both? Some plants can only grow on other plants or fungi. Some plants do not photosynthesize (Convert sunlight, water and carbon dioxide into nutrients) or do it as a sideline.
The truth is that most plants do not grow in isolation. As a result, they find that they cannot outperform the competition so they "cheat". Or more correctly, the plants evolve solutions that involve piggybacking on other organisms. Mistletoes do photosynthesize but they also depend on their hosts for nutrients. Among the parasitic plants, the most dreaded family is the dodder. These plants do not photosynthesize and their impact on other plants are quite devastating (It is not likely that the host plant can produce enough to feed itself and a wholly dependent parasite).
There are some animals with chlorophyll. Or to be more accurately, they consume algae and then incorporate some of the plants' cells into its body and tap on the new cells for energy production. Other animals evolve other solutions to convert sunlight into energy they can use.
The truth is that the plants that do not have plantlike abilities. Ability to grow in soil, water or a mixture of both? Some plants can only grow on other plants or fungi. Some plants do not photosynthesize (Convert sunlight, water and carbon dioxide into nutrients) or do it as a sideline.
The truth is that most plants do not grow in isolation. As a result, they find that they cannot outperform the competition so they "cheat". Or more correctly, the plants evolve solutions that involve piggybacking on other organisms. Mistletoes do photosynthesize but they also depend on their hosts for nutrients. Among the parasitic plants, the most dreaded family is the dodder. These plants do not photosynthesize and their impact on other plants are quite devastating (It is not likely that the host plant can produce enough to feed itself and a wholly dependent parasite).
There are some animals with chlorophyll. Or to be more accurately, they consume algae and then incorporate some of the plants' cells into its body and tap on the new cells for energy production. Other animals evolve other solutions to convert sunlight into energy they can use.
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